At the end of WWII, only 5,000 television sets, with five inch black & white screens, were in American homes. The first time I ever saw one, I was just mezmerized.
I was getting a 'permanent' in my hair at a beauty shop in Logan County, WV. That was an ordeal then. Strands of hair were 'treated' with perming solution and wrapped around metal prongs that were attached to a machine that heated them up. They would get so hot that the beautician would fan my head with something to get a little breeze going. The result was usually a 'frizzy' do. I'll try to find a picture of me with a frizzy.
Anyway, back to the TV. This was in 1949 when I was seven years old. The TV set was tiny. It had a 5 or 6 inch screen. Just the same, to see a 'talking' picture in that little box was as amazing to me as having ET walk into my living room would be now. After my hair was done, we went to see a movie about a cat who inherited a million dollars. The TV was more fascinating.
The station we watched was WSAZ, Channel 5, in Huntington, WV. This station was the 72nd station in the United States. The programming would start about 2 p.m. and end about 11 p.m. with such fare as news, wrestling (a female wrestler we called Neenie Belcus was my favorite :), local sports events (Marshall College football), music and a variety show or two (Sid Caesar and Imogene Coco). It didn't matter. Whatever was on, people watched.
Sid Caesar
It would be several years before we got a television set of our own, but my grandfather bought the first one in Holden, WV where we lived. (A running joke in WV for years was that a man in Mingo County bought the first TV set in WV, but there was no electricity in homes there so it just sat in the middle of the floor for people to notice. lol) Each night, we would get in the car and go to their house. I would fall asleep on the sofa before 'sign off' each night but someone picked me up and put me in the car, and we would go home. This went on until we got our own TV, about 1952.
It was some time before color TVs became available so we had this plastic film screen that was blue on top, pinkish in the middle and green on the bottom. That covered sky, faces and grass. :) So stupid, but we had one, and sometimes we would slap it on the monitor.
I don't know of any single thing that changed my life more than television except maybe my piano. TV programs taught me that some people had normal lives, weren't dirt poorand weren't mistreated. I learned about the world, good people, history and more. I learned that I might be able to escape into the world of the 'good life.' Maybe. If I worked really hard. My 'role model' was Loretta Young who I thought the most beautiful, feminine, intelligent woman in the world. I would spend a lot of time learning to walk in a room like she did on her show, wearing a long beautiful gown and a gorgeous smile. I wore my hair like Veronica Lake, often sweeping it over half my face on the left side. :)
Loretta Young
Finally, after a year or two, the 'novelty' wore off and I became more selective in my TV viewing habits. That is, until American Bandstand, Johnny Yuma and Elvis arrived .. another story for a later time.
For the best TV show that ever was, check out 'The Twilight Zone.' :)
http://www.buyersmls.com/americantv/zone.htm
